


The Doctor is In (a Crane Machine)!

by gamerbot22



Series: Flufftober 2019 but it’s 2020 [8]
Category: Epithet Erased (Cartoon)
Genre: Also his brain-cells disappear when there's a chance to make Molly smile, F/M, I'm gonna keep this one short, It's a mutual crush, Just kids doin kid stuff, Percy has some underlying trauma from spending an entire paycheck on a crane machine, Sylvie is a master actor, and h/oldin h/nds, but I've had this idea for a while!!!, but it's not super obvious, for my own sanity, no kissing, not a lot of romancing, they're kids man what do u want from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23703364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gamerbot22/pseuds/gamerbot22
Summary: Some people will lay their coats over a puddle for their crush, but Sylvie has an even better idea... oh wait-Prompt - Childhood
Relationships: Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling/Molly Blyndeff
Series: Flufftober 2019 but it’s 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608352
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	The Doctor is In (a Crane Machine)!

"And how did this happen?" 

Percival flipped open her pocket notebook and reached for her side for a pen. "Huh. Must have left it at the station..."

"Oh, I have one in my bag." The small girl threw her backpack over her shoulder and rested it on her stomach. Unzipping the top compartment, Molly rummaged around until she found a black office pen that she used back at work. "Here."

"Ah, thank you." Percival took the pen and smiled at her. Before it could overstay it's welcome, she quickly turned back to Business Cop^tm Mode. "So when did the accident occur?"

Sylvie knocked on the acrylic glass of the crane machine as Molly started the story. "Well, me and Sylvie, er... Dr. Ashling, meet up every week to just hang out. Do kid stuff... see movies... and this week we decided to go to the arcade." She held the arms of her backpack as she slipped it back onto her shoulders. "Things were going great, really, until I noticed the big bear in the crane machine." Molly pointed at said plush.

Sylvester was perched in it's lap, his chin in his hand as he watched the firefighters trying to pry open the lock. The bear was almost twice his size and it took up half the real estate in the crane machine. It's fur was a chestnut brown with a pink heart patched onto it's chest. His head was cushioned against said patch, an unimpressed look spread across his features as the third firefighter tried shoving a key into the maintenance keyhole. "Have you tried turning it the other way?"

Percival scratched down the words as Molly spoke, adding a little picture of the bear in the corner as Molly looked over her shoulder at her friend. "We tried to get it, but I ran out of quarters, and then he ran out of quarters, so then he just kinda... Got really upset? And climbed in?" Thinking back on it, Molly couldn't help but giggle as she remembered Sylvie trying to cram his lanky body through the prize flap and into the proper arena of the machine. He's looked like a cat trying to squeeze into a little pet door.

The officer nodded, closing her notebook and nodding at Molly. "The crane machine is a fickle mistress. Even if you think you've gained her trust, she'll only continue to slide the rug out from beneath you and leave you in a cold, bankrupt void. I hope the two have you have learned your lesson."

Sylvester and Molly looked at each other in pure confusion, before he managed to say something back to her. "Yeah, I don't think this is going to be a regular thing on my schedule."

Finally, the smallest firefighter just walked up to the door, jammed a crowbar into the space between the door and the frame and just pried the thing open. "Alright, kid, come on out."

He huffed, muttering "I'm not a kid," as he shoved himself out of the plastic balls that filled the spaces between prizes. He turned to grab the big plush bear, but the door was quickly slammed shut behind him. It happened so fast it almost caught his fingers.

"Hey!" He recoiled. "What the-? The bear's still in there!" He barely even registered Molly rushing to his side and giving him a small hug.

"You didn't win it. It stays in there until you do." The short firefighter sighed, puffing their thick blonde hair out of their eyes as they shoved the lock back into place. 

"Are you serious? We spent enough money to buy like three of those things!"

"Should've bought it then." They sighed and gestured for the other firefighters to pack it up. "It's the policy here, kid, it ain't my first rodeo." 

"I'm not a kid!" He stomped his foot childishly.

He was in a mood as Molly finished giving her statement to Percy. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets and he was pouting. Molly hadn't ever seen him act like this before. Usually he was a lot more levelheaded. Mature, even. It was one of the things she admired about him. It was so out of character she almost forgot to ask until they left the arcade to go find somewhere to get food.

"Hey, it's not a big deal," Molly put her hand on his back, assuring him as he walked beside her down the pavement of the entertainment part of town. It was really the only area molly felt comfortable relaxing in outside of school, given that it was so close to her family's toy store. "Percy's right, the crane machine is a fickle mistress. If you want I can pay you back for-"

Sylvester had that look on his face. The look every smart-ass anime character got when they had done something genius. He had the smile and the chine in his glasses to match it even. "Oh, i'm not worried about the money anymore." He said slyly, propping his chin up between his thumb and pointer finger. "Besides... why have one big bear when you could have-" 

"Several smaller bears!!!" Sylvie elegantly threw off his coat, and Molly's eyes widened as she watched piles and piles of small, stuffed teddy bears fall to the ground out of the coat's pockets.

"Oh, my goooood!!!!!" She dropped to her knees next to the pile of bears. "How???"

"One of the fun things about having a sleep epithet is you can make people _just_ sleepy enough to not notice the blatant smuggling of bear toys." He knelt beside her and helped her put the bears into her backpack with a smile. "It was kinda hard to shove them all in my pockets, though."

"Heh, I guess you're kind of a criminal now," Molly giggled as she picked up the last bear and held it close. It was yellow with curly, soft fur and green button eyes. It was still warm from being packed together with so many others of his kind.

"I guess so," Sylvie smiled, standing up and offering Molly his hand. "Just... don't tell Giovanni."

"I promise."

Molly held his hand tightly as they continued down the street. His hand fit snug against hers and she squeezed his palm three times, gently like how she remembered her mom doing to her. "So do we still want to try for that big bear?" She asked, teasingly.

"I'm not giving up just yet, but...

_...Maybe we should wait for our next paychecks."_


End file.
